Plan to tweak tourism education to meet future needs
The Department of Tourism (DOT) is collaborating with leading education institutions to adjust the tourism human resources curriculum to answer the industry’s needs and the Thailand 4.0 policy.
The collaboration is in line with Tourism and Sports Minister Weerasak Kowsurat’s policy to upgrade the curriculum to answer to the real needs in the industry.
According to Anan Wongbenjarat, director-general of the DOT, a brainstorming meeting between tourism and education authorities will be held on February 7 at the Twin Towers Hotel in Bangkok.
Weerasak will preside over the opening ceremony and discuss the theme, “Policy and Directions on Sustainable Tourism Development as a Pillar of Thailand’s Economic, Social, Cultural, and Environmental Development.”
Representing the Education Ministry, Clinical Prof Udom Kachintorn, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Education will speak on “Policy and Directions on Curriculum Development for Tourism Industry”.
The meeting will be attended by concerned state agencies and educational institutions to assess current problems and collect recommendations to improve hospitality and tourism curriculum at tertiary level.
According to Anan, Thailand is blessed with natural and cultural resources for tourism which are crucial for economic growth and income distribution. But the country still needs a lot more qualified hospitality and tourism personnel who can respond to rapid changes in the increasingly competitive industry.
Although Thailand is producing a large number of graduates in hospitality and tourism management, their skills still cannot fully meet the market needs because tourism and hospitality curriculum emphasizes theories which often do not meet practical needs and market demands.
